Problem
This problem is to create a word biography and how it has changed over time. You are going to use the Oxford English Dictionary (free with school id at home or a campus computer) Check that the definition matches the correct part of speech (noun, verb, adjective) you want to study; words can be used in many ways, so focus on the sense related to the one you are studying. Try the word "Crap", look at several forms of the word, and be sure to click on "etymology," "quotations," and "date chart' for full information:
Read about your word: its etymology (original language and meaning), its implications at a given time (synchronic), and its changes over time (diachronic). Look at the dates next to each quotation and see what kinds of texts they are and when they were published. Look the word up in at least one text and see what it means by the context.
In your essay, discuss and elaborate on your observations about where the word comes from, what meanings the word had during the time it was used in your text, and how it may have changed since then and how.
This is not a vocabulary exercise; pay attention to finding new and surprising.